Do you always reach for toast and jam in the morning? It’s quick, right? And easy. We get it.

But with so much evidence pointing towards how excess carbohydrates and sugars in the body can cause inflammation, it’s probably time to rethink that morning routine.

Carbs promote inflammation by introducing too much sugar into our blood and overstimulating a hormone called insulin. Over time, these chronically elevated sugar and insulin levels in our blood damage our cells. It puts fat into our liver and creates inflammatory diseases such as – you guessed it – type 2 diabetes.

But first, why do we actually eat so many carbs?

Well, you could say we’ve been led to believe they’re good for us and that healthy fats aren’t. But that’s not the case at all.

If you look at the average Australian diet, we eat cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, lean cuts of meat and potatoes for dinner, three servings of fruit a day and maybe a bowl or two of pasta a week.

The scary thing is this type of diet can be up to 200g in carbohydrates a day, equivalent to 50 teaspoons of sugar going into your bloodstream. The World Health Organisation recommends eating no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar daily – yikes!

So, it’s time we ditched the carbs and sugars and instead focused on healthy fats and protein. Here’s how to do it in four easy steps.

1. Focus on healthy fats to keep us full

Do you get to 3 pm and feel completely ravenous? It’s probably because you’ve tried to fill up on simple sugars and empty carbs.

Eating healthy fats such as butter, ghee, olive and coconut oils and nuts provides us with energy and keeps blood sugars stable. This means you won’t reach for a chocolate bar to boost your energy mid-afternoon!

Healthy fats also lower blood glucose and improve insulin sensitivity, which plays a part in putting your type 2 diabetes into remission.

2. It’s all about the protein!

Our bodies need protein. Fact. Protein is made up of amino acids which our body uses to build and repair muscle and bones, make hormones and give us energy.

Things such as meat, cheese, chicken, fish and eggs are the perfect protein and will give you all the energy you need for the day – again, they won’t leave you running for a 3 pm pick-me-up!

Check out some of our recipes to get you started.

3. Find healthier swaps

Have a think about how much bread you eat each day. We often eat toast and jam in the morning, a sandwich at lunch, maybe a dinner roll with your evening meal, or even a pizza (yes, pizza dough still counts). That’s a lot of carbohydrates!

There is no need to despair; you can still eat bread (in moderation) – just look for the healthier version of it.

The supermarket has breads that are 85% low carb, which equals 4g of carbs per serve, as opposed to regular bread, which has up to 25g per serve, otherwise known as 6 teaspoons of sugar!

You could even make our popular Three Seed Bread if you want to get creative (our members love it!).

4. Don’t deprive yourself

The Defeat Diabetes Program is not a diet; it’s an entirely new lifestyle.

This is because traditional diets are generally restrictive and deprive us of satiating foods. They demand low calorie and low fat foods – quite the opposite of how we eat on a low carb approach – which is why, ultimately, they’re impossible to stick to

So, we’re all for treating yourself when needed, but it’s about knowing which options will help your type 2 diabetes and which foods will spike your blood glucose.

Things like sugar-laden milk chocolate, chips and lollies aren’t a great choice, but 75% dark chocolate is, thanks to its low sugar content.

And if you’re feeling like a biscuit or a cake, use almond flour instead of refined flour and sweeteners like stevia or monkfruit instead of sugar.

Low carb doesn’t need to be hard, and you definitely don’t have to miss out! You can defeat your diabetes and have your bread, cake, chocolate, pasta or crackers and eat it too!!